Maps coming out my ears

Ah - the end of another suspiciously productive day. Suspiciously I say b/c I've actually been hard at work all day, but don't seem to have a lot to show for it. Funny how that goes. Made a map for a very annoying estate surveyor. He kept calling and pestering me about it. He would have gotten it about a day earlier had he not been doing that. Forced me to go all local government on him...Mmmhmm! The local bike store wants me to make a great big map of Hackney to put in their front window. I'm really pleased they want me to do this, but, of course, have run right into stupid map licensing issues, given that all map data in this silly little country is controlled by Ordnance Survey, and they are suing people left and right who dare to use mapping data without paying for it properly... So, I'm looking for a clever and entirely legal way around this, which I might have found by tying the map into the Government's 'Cycle to Work' scheme. Very clever - and promoting council and environmental interests as well! I'm learning how to play the bureaucratic game. How very scary indeed.

Went for a lovely 62 mile bike ride on Sunday out west of London. I'm mapping all my rides with my new Garmin toy. One of these days I will figure out how to convert everything to .kml files so I can put them onto Google Earth... I had my lunch in a tumbledown graveyard in the not very exciting town of Chertsey. I used a tombstone as my picnic bench. David thinks this is macabre, but given that most of the graves seem to have just sat around doing nothing since the mid 1800s, it seemed a good recycling use of material. I also had to take a leak in the graveyard - tried to find a place that wasn't right over someone's grave - didn't want to get pulled under or anything scary like that.

No, I'm not a weirdo - I just play one on TV.

Anyway, not much else to report really - suppose I should get out of here and head to the gym so I can be buff und huge (giggle!).

When the boss is away, the Doug will play...

And I'm back. Ewa is away skiing in Austria and Thomas has gone to some meeting with Street Lighting (where most bright ideas are born), so I have a few minutes to tickle the keyboard with my amazing wit and witticisms (or else to drivel on about nothing in particular). I missed the chance to write about the big 'Blizzard of '09', which saw London buried under an amazing and terrifying 6 or 7 inches of snow. The entire city ground to a complete halt, with the entire bus fleet being pulled for the first time, apparently, in its history. Supposedly, the health and safety folks were worried that they would turn into big red double decker missles being hurtled down streets at at least 5 mph, destroying this great city that has survived pest and pestilence, war and fire. I am very glad they saw fit to keep the busses out of service - meanwhile not bothering to grit roads or sidewalks until well after the fact. Different boroughs seemed to have different policies on what to do. Southwark made at least a halfass attempt to grit some of the streets, though the ones they picked seemed entirely random. Lambeth adopted an 'it will melt' eventually approach, and Hackney dumped about a million pounds of salt in front of one council building, but didn't get around to the much smoother and much slipperier sidewalks in front of another one until 3 days later, when the now-ice was melting anyway. Trains were cancelled, in some instances, for three days 'because of severe conditions' (the wrong kind of snow or something, i guess), and the supermarkets sold out of bread. I slogged into work, taking 2 hours one way and 2.5 hours the other, because the council initially said we'd have to take the day against our annual leave allowance, and only later, when it became clear that most people had stayed home, said that they would give the Monday and Tuesday as snow days. Great - felt really appreciated there. One of the newspapers declared that this country had become and 'entire nation of bedwetters'. I couldn't agree more.

Anyway...

Paul and I went to Berlin two weekends ago for a long weekend. He ended up going out and generally staying up all night. I spent the time hanging out with friends (I've somehow managed to make three good friends there, even though I've never lived there), eating, and wandering around the city. I think that was my sixth time there? Not sure. Anyway, Berlin is definitely one of my very favorite places and well up on my list of places I could live quite happily (of course, I'd need to learn German...).

Got a new toy for my bike - a Garmin Edge 705, which is basically a bike sat-nav. It is so cool - lets me record all my rides online and map them out on Google maps - keeps track of things like cadence, elevation change, calories burned, speed, etc... It's basically all the nerdy things I've wanted to keep track of for the past 20 or so years, and all I have to do is to plug it into the computer. How cool is that?

Oh, and David has finally replaced his bike - so we are now a household of cyclists again. Robin is using his clipless pedals and hasn't had a disaster... Now I just have to convince the two of them they want to do long-distance rides... Baby steps.

I stayed home from work yesterday with a cold. Actually, I wasn't all that ill, but I'd not been sleeping very well and Robin convinced me to try one of his sleeping pills (he has b/c of the meds he's on). So, I took one when I went to bed, thinking this might actually give me a nice, full night of sleep. Wrong! I felt like I was getting sucked into the bed, which I really didn't like. Woke up then at 4:26 in some weird position and couldn't go back to sleep. Every time I tried, I just had weird thoughts. By the time morning came around, I was a complete disaster and wasn't going anywhere. Finally got a little sleep between 9 and 11, but I spent most of yesterday feeling like a complete zombie. Don't think I will be trying those again--eek! Of course, it didn't keep me from meeting Kathleen for lunch or going to the gym. Gayness trumps illness every time...

Mr. Smoker behind me is still hacking up a lung - I can hear him force out a tubuculoid cough every minute or two. My solution to this, which might actually prevent office violence, is to plug myself into streaming music on my mobile phone (I've got unlimited internet access) - found some really good French station that seems to have very few ads - and the're in French anyway, so they just sound like silly noises...

Should probably do a little work now... How dull.

Biking to Glory

And we're back.

Today was the third day of my big bold plan to boldly get up in the morning as no one has gotten up before. Monday was the first day (I suppose that's rather obvious...). Anyway - I got up Monday morning, all ready to head out into the new day on my bicycle. Only problem was that my back tire had gone flat. Great. So I ran instead, just to say I'd done something. Yesterday I cycled - actually really enjoyed it - and really really enjoyed not having to do it after work in the dark. This morning I woke up about 615 (not happy about that), but persevered nonetheless - headed out on my bike into the pouring rain. Another cyclist nearly flattened me as I was turning left - he thought it was a good idea, apparently, to zip between me and the curve as I turned. I offered him a few kindly suggestions on his technique... All goes smoothly then until, 2 miles from Hackney - pfftzzzzzz - a very small but very sharp piece of glass lodges in my front tire, tearing it to shreds (thankfully no blowout), and I get to walk the last two miles to work (and the bike store) in the rain. Yay! The bike store, which had just recommended the previous tires to me only a few weeks ago (as being more puncture resistant than my goold old standby Armadillo tires), replaced them both, charging me for just one tire and no labor. I think they were embarrassed - b/c 2 flats in 2 tires in 3 days does not speak well towards the manufacturer's grandiose claims of puncture resistance...

However, drama aside, I think I really like this whole business about cycling in the morning (more than just the 7.5 miles to work). Given that I've not had much sleep this week, I've ended up feeling pretty awake and alive, and I get to feel virtuous in the morning when I'm out on my bike in the rain. I'm probably weird and need counseling.

Oh, I did see a Reliant Robin this morning, which always amuses me. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliant_Robin Why anyone ever thought this car was a good idea, I'm not sure. They do look quite dorky going around a corner at high speeds, wobbling about... I want one.

Anyway, not much else really to write today. I've been using the day (sans bosses at work) to catch up on those very important work related things like writing letters. Might clean my desk now so that it looks like I've actually gotten something accomplished. I love working in government!

Here and Alive...

And I’m back – at least briefly. I have a number of pages of blather to enter from the California trip, which I will one of these days (they will be out of order, I suppose – we will cope).

Anyway – yesterday was supposed to be the most miserable day of the year, according to scientists at the British Institute of Grumpiness and the BBC. I was grumpy and irritable yesterday, so I guess I was just proving the point. I do think, however, that my desk light actually does help some. Or, at least I’ve decided that it does b/c I’d feel really stupid about paying £129 for it otherwise. (Probably that). Still though, I will be very happy once we start getting more than a modicum of sunlight again…

We had a student here today. I was tasked with keeping him busy and interested, since I have teaching experience and Ewa (who also has teaching experience) wasn’t interested. I gave him a task to do which seems to have taken the entire day – so either I kept him occupied, or he did a very good job of playing on the Internet all day and looking busy (and more power to him if he did). Tomorrow is a team away-day, where we get to talk about such complete drivel as communication strategies and have team building exercises. I’d rather die. I don’t know why organisations come up with this sort of crap, and why people actually enjoy it. But then, the world is full of idiots, which probably explains a great deal of it.

And the Bush presidency ends in four minutes! Woohoo! Oh – and I got Indefinite Leave to Remain (as did David), which is such a relief! Hopefully not having Bush in the White House will be at least as big of a relief…

Hopefully will manage to write more over the next few days, b/c I’ve been really bad at this lately….

Olympic Silliness

Went to a meeting today with the 'Five Host Boroughs' organization, out in Stratford (the land that style forgot). They have this huge mapping request for all sorts of Olympic related hoohah, and, apparently, Hackney has a good name, so they want us to do their mapping. Sounds interesting--but what was most interesting was watching their great-but-vague-ideas and partnerships-are-fabulous schpiel run up against Ewa's need for firm plans, deadlines, lists, etc. I just sat back and watched them squirm while she peppered them with questions about project plans (eh?), budget options, la la la. I guess that's why she's manager--she gets to think about all the yucky bits and I get to sit back and watch the ensuing terror and pandemonium.

So, the Olympics are going to be held out in Stratford (http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=stratford%2C+e15&countryCode=GB#map=51.5402,-0.000981432&bd=useful_information&loc=GB:51.5402:-0.00098:14stratford,%20e15Stratford,%20London,%20England,%20E15%204), which truly is a horrendous place full of tower block council estates, one-way highways, and all the general 1950s and 1960s horribleness this country was able to create (and that's a lot). The Olympics folks are planning to 'regenerate' the place, and to leave a 'lasting legacy'. Yeah, right. First step: knock it all down and start again! True, they did manage regeneration in Barcelona, but the Spaniards are better at thinking of big-picture type things than are the English, who have apparently never seen a problem they couldn't dissect until it becomes unsolvable. I took mean and sadistic pleasure in asking them about links between physical and social regeneration (they are really only interested in the physical, which is a big part of the problem--one doesn't necessarily lead to the other). Anyway, it is all very nice, in theory, but I still really wonder how this country is going to manage to turn the biggest shithole in London into something that people will want to visit, and a place people will want to live. Miracles do happen though...

Not much else today really--I woke up at 655 because Robin was bounding up and down the hallway like some sort of crazed rodent (he had to catch a train), so I've been a zombie all day, and the Christmas exodus seems to have begun in earnest in the office. The general level of productivity has been plummeting (and there wasn't much of it to begin with, this being government and all!). Hey ho...

Light bright, light bright...

Well, I got my gro-lite today and have it set up behind my computer screens so that I can look into the (very bright!) bulb for 2 or so hours per day. The thing is huge--the width of an entire large computer screen, and has been, not surprisingly, the source of some merriment in the office. We shall see, I suppose, if it sparkles up my mood in dark months. If nothing else, it makes it so I get to see cool designs (it's supposed to be positioned so that I get direct light in my eyes). The light consists of this wacky flourescent bulb - 4 in 1, that gives off what seems like a very sun-like spectrum. I'm thinking perhaps I should grow pot at my desk now or something. I'm sure no one would suspect anything ('It's a Japanese maple - really!') and I could use it to supplement my meager public sector income. They encourage this sort of thing in government, I think (or maybe I've just looked into the light for too long?). Hmm.

Seen on may in this morning... A break in the water main, with a jet of water shooting up twenty or so feet, and a couple of guys on a scaffold next door, not paying any attention. In fact, it didn't really seem like anyone was paying any special attention. Reminds me of a time when I was at a restaurant in New York. At one point, part of the (false) ceiling collapsed, as water from the apartment above had pooled. There was a minor amount of kerfuffle and general worry, but then, when people figured out that the building wasn't going to fall down, they continued with their meals, with that particular portion of the restaurant cordoned off. Ya gotta love New Yorkers...

Oh, I printed out a map of the National Cycle Network, and have been drooling over it for much of the afternoon--thinking of all the 3 or 4 day long rides I could do next summer. It still looks like it's going to be just me doing these rides. I'd really like to do a Germany/Switzerland ride as well, but I'm a little weenie about cycling for several days on my own in a non-English speaking country. I could, however, quit being a weenie and just do it. It's not like I'm talking about Cambodia or something... Hmm.

Tinseltits takes tannenbaum...

For the first time since we've come to London, we actually have a Christmas tree. And, I have to say, it is, most definitely, the gayest Christmas tree in Fairyland. Robin, being the native born Brit that he is, had a supply of ornaments and lights. So, we thought, how nice would it be to have a tree? Apparently though, Robin felt it necessary to rebel against the disorganized trees of his youth by ensuring that all ornaments and lights are color coordinated (shades of gold and clear). It is, indeed, a lovely fir tree with lovely, very organized ornaments and such, but I feel a little bit like Niles escaped the TV to decorate our tree, and I want to run out to the supermarket to purchase some Christmas schlock to liven it up a bit. The things one gets used to living in a household of queens.

Speaking of... Robin (again), decided to download some of the Olympic games from one of his sundry (legal, of course! :-) sites. He downloaded about fifteen files, most of them men's gymnastics (wonder why...?) and discovered, to his utter horror and our utter amusement, that all but two of them are made up of really cheesy straight porn. Robin had to turn it off as soon as he saw the flesh colored tones, lest his eyeballs fall from their sockets with the filth of it all, but David and managed to get him to watch a few minutes, alternively giggling, saying 'eeeiuww', or 'I didn't know you could do that with a(n)... (?)'. So, it was a fun night for all, followed by several episodes of Voyager, and Frasier to cap it off.

Seen this morning on the road: A 10 or 15 year old minibus, rusting a bit around the edges, reading 'Dan's Luxury Tours'. Yeah.

And I decided to splurge and buy a SAD desk lamp (£129!!!) with the dim home that perhaps its sunny brightness will help lift my winter blahs and cause me to eat less chocolate. My boss thinks this is quite amusing, and said that from now on, if I'm grumpy, he will just tell me to go stand by my light. ('Stay away from the light, Carol Anne!'). David also wants to get one, but as he works in an open plan office with pretty desks (as opposed to my cluttered, generally disasterous council office), he has to get a doctor's note, as it could possibly constitute a 'health and safety' hazard. (I suppose the various pinheads he works with might be tempted to look into it... Perhaps they will require people sitting within 50m to wear protective eyewear. Of course, that kind of defeats the purpose).

And I should get back to 'working'...